Booker and Gillibrand just announced last month they will stop accepting donations from corporate PACs to try to push for campaign finance reform. And there has been a lot of talk about the problems with politicians who are taking money from organizations like the NRA. While it certainly isn't being talked about as much as it should, I don't think it necessarily is being completely ignored to be removed as an issue.

In the end, Gillibrand was not able to take the White House from Trump. But she did manage to win the popular vote by over 4% (6 million+ votes!).
Blue states went even more blue this time (Dems got over 70% of the vote in Cali, NY, VT, and RI, as well as 60+% in a number of other states). Republicans barely held onto PA, WI, MI, and squeaked out a victory in MN too. Interesting win from the Dems in Indiana though. I attached the results file also if you want to see all the state results
ree.csv

A little let than a month until the election. Trump currently leads (though Gillibrand would likely end up winning popular vote). The Midwest is turning quite red, while areas like the Southeast may be turning out in favor for the democrats.

At the convention, Brown gave his delegates to Sanders, while everyone else gave them Kirsten Gillibrand. It now comes down to Sanders. Whoever he gives his delegates to will become the nominee....
Sanders delegates go to Kirsten Gillibrand and Gillibrand is the democratic nominee.
Tickets:
Trump/Gingrich
Gillibrand/Brown

Trump easily won the Republican nomination early on (I believe March 17 was when he officially secured the nomination).
Joe Biden did very well for Democrats, but progressives in the party clearly wouldn't let him run away too easily as there will be a contested convention.

March 4 delegate count
Biden: 635
Garcetti: 400
Holder: 154
Hickenlooper: 149
Sanders: 127
Booker: 111
Gillibrand: 71
Brown: 49
Delaney: 26
Guttierez: 15
Booker and Delaney withdraw one day after Super Tuesday. And then the next day, Paul, Corker, Hickenlooper, and Holder all withdraw.
Trump: 678
Kasich: 129
Corker: 118
Paul: 41
Trump and Biden are the clear front runners right now. Garcetti is actually only polling at 3%, but he won California so he got a lot of delegates from that (similar with Holder, who won Texas but nothing else)

Andrew Yang has announced he is running for the democratic nomination, the core of his platform is to implement a universal basic income to tackle automation.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/technology/his-2020-campaign-message-the-robots-are-coming.html
https://www.yang2020.com/
Thoughts?
Also, @vcczar perhaps you can include him in the next update for your 2020 scenario.

2020 Election results
Overall some interesting results, for the most part seems resonable. Montana going strongly blue is obviously very strange. Also attached is the state results file.
Some other strange observations: Alaska and Kentucky were actually very close, despite being known as a republican stronghold.
Democrats just barely held onto Minnesota, and PA, MI, FL, NC were all very close just like 2016 (these results seem very plausible for 2020).
results.csv